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Rifles

I wouldent say i was a beginner to shooting and certainly not rifles shooting 22s from the age of 13 at the school rifle club, but as i get older i have decided i want one of my own for on the farm.
I want the rifle for controlling foxes and rabbits, i think i have made my mind up on what i want but would like some advice from people with a bit more experience, i would like a .17hmr browning t bolt.
Any suggestions ? is this appropriate? any advice given would be welcome.
Thanks
James

0440! Busy lambing?
A .17hrm would be fine for rabbits(sonic crack will have them all running though,even with a mod')but I would enquire at my local firearms licensing dep't before applying to ensure they deem that calibre as sufficient for foxes;not all do.

James,
If you want to go lamping rabbits then the .22 r/f with sub ammo and mod cannot be beaten. Cheap, quite and will put more bunnies in the pot than anything else. If you can get within 80 yards the same applies in daylight - cheap and quite. If you can’t get within 80 yards and you don't suffer from an exposed windy situation then the .17hmr is ideal. If you believe everything you read on here then you can knock bunnies over at extremely long distance. Much more expensive than .22 r/f, much noisier but more accurate at over 80 yards as long as the wind isn't blowing and you don't want to eat the rabbit.
Most police forces frown on .22 r/f for foxes. Many will not approve .17hmr for foxes. There are a couple of hot .17 rounds such as the fireball. Not too sure what the attitude of the police are to these rounds but they would certainly dispatch a rabbit at long range very effectively and while I don't have one I would guess it would put a fox to sleep very soundly. If you only want one rifle and you are not worried about carcase damage and your police force will approve it why not consider a c/f .22. If you reload it isn't any more expensive than the .17hmr route and far better ballistics. A .22 hornet is a very well tried round and very effective on all vermin. If you think you might get a problem with muntjack or C.W.D. then a .222 - .223 or 22.250 or the like - will do everything - but some police forces are sticky about granting permission to use these on small vermin even though ACPO guidance is to approve them.
Think about what you want to shoot before deciding. 22 r/f's are cheap so you might consider one of these for lamping and something bigger for foxes and long range rabbits.
John